Grain-conveyer.



No. 799,584. PATENTED SEPT. l2, 1905. J. F. WHITE. GRAIN GONVEYER.

APPLIUATION FILED DEG. 15. 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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rnlilllllillrtiIlllttlllIlI:Ill94|Illlliflllllivllllrllildh 'PATENTED SEPT. 12, 1905.

J. F. WHITE. GRAIN GONVEYER.

APrLIoATIoN FILED 91:0.;5, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET z.

UNITED sTArns- PATENT OFFICE. l/

JOHN F. WHITE, or BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS.

GRAIN-CONVEYER.

Specication of Letters Patent. i

Patented sept. 12, 1905.

Application filed December 15, 1904=. Serial Nol 236,925.

I acter heretofore in use, where the grain isde.

livered at a central point of the barn or crib, it has been proposed to install a shiftable con.- veyer in the barn or crib for the purpose o f illing the entire interior of said barn or crib.

In this form of apparatus the conveyer is first placed with one of its ends adjacent the de-4 livery end of the means used to elevate the grain and its other end adjacent to one end of the barn. The conveyer is then actuated to cause the grain to travel from the delivery end of the elevator toward the end of the barn, and this movement of the conveyer is continued until one-half of the barn or crib has been filled with the grain. The conveyer is then shifted to the opposite end of the barn and the operation repeated. A construction of this character requires a great deal of complicated mechanism for shifting the conveyer,

and it is to overcome this Objection that the present invention has been designed, which,l broadly stated, contemplates the use of a fixed conveyer mechanism supported in the top of a barn or crib and extending substantially the entire length thereof, means for delivering the grain to said conveyer mechan'4 ism at a point intermediate its ends, and means for actuating said conveyer mechanism to cause the grain to travel in either direction from its point of delivery, and means for effecting the discharge of grain at various points along the conveyer mechanism.

The invention, more specifically stated, comprises a conveyer-trough secured in the upper portion of a barn or crib and extending substantially the entire length thereof,'an elevator adapted to deliver the grain to said conveyer-trough at a point intermediate its'ends, fixed conveyer mechanism cooperating with said conveyer-trough, and means for actuating said conveyer mechanism to cause the grain to travel in the conveyer-trough in either direction from the delivery-spout of the elevator.

.necessary to fully illustrate the same.

In the drawings accompanying this specification, wherein'a preferable embodiment of my invention is shown, and wherein like letters of reference refer to similar parts in the several views, Figure l is a longitudinal section of a barn or crib, showing the conveyer-trough and the conveyer mechanism for causing the grain to travel in either direction in said trough from its point of delivery. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of the conveyer-trough, conveyer mechanism, and the elevator for delivering the grain thereto. gearing for actuating the conveyer mechanism. Fig. 4 is a detail view of the pivoted gate and the mechanism for actuating the same; and Fig. 5 is a transverse section through the conveyer-trough, showing one of the removable gates secured therein.

- Referring more particularly to the drawf ings, A designates the upper portion of a barn or crib, adapted for the storage of grain. B designates a conveyer-trough having the sides b b and the substantially flat bottom o', secured in the upper portion Of said barn or crib and extending substantially the entire length of said barn or crib, but terminating short of the ends thereof.

B designates an open-ended hopper secured above the central portion of the conveyertrough B, and C designates an elevator, the delivery -end of which projects through the side of the 'barn or crib and is adapted to deliver the grain to the hopper B. rIhe elevator C is ofany suitable type and can be driven in any suitable manner, and as it forms no part of my invention I have deemed it un- The upper shaft C' of the elevator projects with- "out the sides of the elevator-casing and has keyed thereto a sprocket-wheel c for a purpose to be hereinafter more particularly set forth. rIhe grain is caused to travel in either direction in the conveyer-trough -from its point of delivery by a pair of conveyers D Fig. 3 is a detail view showing the.

IOO

and D', which extend from the central portion of the conveyer-trough to the opposite ends of the same and which are designed to be driven in different directions. Each of the conveyers D and D consists, preferably, of a pair of endless chains d, connected at intervals by the flights 0l. of the conveyers D and D are adapted to travel over the bottom b of the conveyertrough B, so that the flights d will cause the travel of any grain dumped inthe trough.

rIhe upper stretches IIO The upper stretches of the conveyers D and D are supported upon sprocket-wheels d2, secured to the sides b at the ends of the conveyer-trough B, and sprocket-wheels cl3, secured to the sides of the conveyer-trough B and underlying the hopper B". The portion of the bottom of the conveyer-trough between the sprocket-wheels cl3, which support the inner ends of the conveyers D and D', is

cut away to permit the passage therethrough of said conveyers. rIhe lower stretches of the conveyers D and D are supported upon sprocket-wheels di, secured to shafts d5,- which are journaled in depending standardsZ, Secured to the sides b of the conveyer-trough B. One of the shafts (Z5 of each of the conveyers is preferably made adjustable in the standards b2, so that the tension vof the conveyer-belts may be regulated. The sprocketwheels d3, which support the inner-ends of the upper stretches of the conveyers Dand D. are secured one pair to a shaft E-and vthe other pair to a shaft E', which constitute'the driving-shafts for the conveyers. The-ends of said shaftszproject through the side of the conveyer-trough B, which is adjacent the-elevator C, and have secured thereto thegearwheels and E3 fora purposeto -be hereinafter more particularly set forth.

F designates a gate -which is pivotally mounted between the sides bdirectly -under the hopper B and is designed to be tilted'to connect said hopper with :the portion of the trough which contains the conveyer D -or with the portion of thetrough.which'contains the conveyer D, -accordingly as it is desired to distribute the grain to one side or the other of the barn. `Thegate F is-lixedly secured to a rod-G, which is journaled in the sides of the conveyer-trough B. rIhe end of the rod G adjacent the elevator C projects through the side .b of the conveyer-trough and is bentupwardly to lie alongside of said side andthen outwardly to project between a pair of Aupwardly-extending arms L and L, secured to a bar H, mounted to slide horizontally in-guides 7a2, secured to the side I) of the conveyertrough. From this construction it vwill'be obvious that when the slide H is-reciprocated the gate F will be tilted to connect the hopper with either the portion of the trough containing the conveyer D or the portion-containing the conveyer D.

I will now proceed -to describe the means for actuating the conveyers D and D'. v

I designatesa horizontal shaft supported in brackets i z', secured to the side of the-conveyer-trough B adjacent the elevator C.

K designates a sprocket-wheel secured to one end of the shaft I, which is connected by a chain f with the sprocket-wheel c on the upper shaft C of the-elevator C, so that the shaft l will-be continuously driven While-the elevator is being operated.

L and L' designate a vpair of bevel-gears toward the left.

loosely mounted on the shaft I and` meshing with opposite sides of the gear-wheels E2 and E3, secured to the projecting ends of the drive- 'shafts Eand E of the conveyers D and D,

whereby said conveyers will be driven in opposite directions when the gear-wheels L and L are clutched to the shaft I. The gearwheels L and L' have formed on their inner faces clutch-faces Z and ZC My is a clutch-sleeve splined on the shaft I and provided with the clutch-faces m and m, adapted to engage, respectively, the clutchfaces Zand Z on Athe gear-wheels L and L' to cause either of said gear-wheels to rotate with theshaft I. The clutch member M is provided v-with an annular portion m2, which is adapted to be engaged by the bifurcated end of an arm 7b3, depending from the sliding bar H. Thesliding barHis given a reciprocatory movement in either direction by means of ropesJ-and h5, the inner ends of which are securedto the depending arm h3 and the outer i -ends of which extend in opposite directions vwhich-causes Athe arm z/ to abut against the outwardly-bent portion of the rod Gr, there- Vby -causingithegate F to tilt and connect the hopper Bv with lthat portion of the conveyer- -trough containing the' conveyer D. Simultaneously Awith the tilting of the gate F the yclutch member Mis brought into engagement withthe pulley L to cause the same to rotate with the shaft I and through the gear-wheel Eand drive-shaft 1E to drive the conveyer D rIhe parts are left 4in this position until the left-hand'side of the barn or crib-is filled. The rope /L is then pulled,

which first causes the conveyer vD-to cease to operate and then connects the hopper B with Vthe portion-of the conveyer-trough containlng the conveyer D and slm ultaneously causes said conveyer D to run to the right. The

=parts are-left in this position until the righthand side of thefbarn is filled, when theropes L and h5 are adjusted tobring the clutch member'M toa central position, so that neither of the conveyers D-and D will be operated.

In my device as-thus far described the only f point'ofvk discharge for the grain is at the ends.

ofzthe conveyer-trough B. It has been found desirable,however, toprovide means for discharging thegrain from various points of the conveyer-trough. I have therefore provided gates being Hush-with the bottom b of the conveyer-trough B, so as not to interfere with the running of the-conveyers therein. Each lOO IIO

'at the end oi' the trough. `of the barn is filled, however, the gate neXt adjacent the end is removed, and so on until of the gates b3 comprises a body portion b* of the same thickness as the bottom t of the vcon veyer-trougli and of a size to snugly fit the lopening 7) therein 'and end pieces b", secured b adjacent the opening b2 when the gates arel secured in position.

The gates are removably secured in position by means of rods which pass through the sides of the conveyertrough and engage the under side of the end pieces b5. In practice the gates are all first secured in position, and the only discharge is As soon as the end all of the gates are removed. By this means the entire body of the barn or crib can be filled. -If desired, detachable chutes of any 'suitable type may be attached to the conveyer-trough B to conduct the grain from the openings b2 to either side of the barn or crib.`

scribed, fixed conveyer mechanism securedin the upper portion of a barn or criby and eX- tending substantially the entire length thereof, means foi delivering grain to said conveyer mechanism intermediate its ends, means for actuating said conveyer mechanism to cause the grain to travel in either direction from its pointof delivery, and means for effecting the discharge of the grain at various points along the conveyer mechanism.

2. In an apparatus of the character described, conveyer mechanism secured in the upper portion of a barn or crib and extending substantially the entire length thereof, an elevator arranged to deliver grain to said conveyer mechanism intermediate its ends, gearing connecting the elevator and the conveyer mechanism, and means for actuating said conveyer mechanism to cause the grain to travel in either direction from its point of delivery.

3. In an apparatus of the character described, a conveyer-trough secured in the upper portion of a barn or crib and extending substantially the entire length thereof, fixed conveyer mechanism associated with said trough, means for delivering grain to the trough intermediate its ends, and means for actuating the conveyer mechanism to cause the grain to travel in the trough in either direction from its point of delivery.

4. In an apparatus of the character described, a conveyer-trough secured in the upper portion of a barn or crib, conveyer mechanism associated With said trough, means for delivering grain to theA trough intermediate its ends, means for actuating the conveyer mechanism to cause the grain to travel in the trough in either direction from its point of delivery, and means for effecting the discharge of the grain at various points of the trough.

5. In an apparatus of the character described, a conveyer-trough secured in the upper portion of a barn or crib, conveyer mechanism associated With said trough, means for delivering grain to the trough intermediate its ends, means for actuating the conveyer mechanism to cause the grain to travel in the trough in either direction from its point of delivery, and a plurality of removable gates secured in the bottom of said trough.

6. In an apparatus of the character described, a pair of conveyers secured in the upperwportion of a barn or crib, an elevator,

4means for connecting the discharge-spout of said elevator with either of said conveyers, and means for driving said conveyers inde- `pendentiy in opposite directions.

7. In an apparatus of the character described, a pair of conveyers secured in the up- `:per'portion of a barn or crib and adapted to be driven in opposite directions, an elevator,

'means for connecting the delivery-spout of said elevator with either of said conveyers, and means forv simultaneously causing the conveyer connected to the elevator to runwith the elevator.

,Y 8. In an apparatus of the character despout of the elevator with either of said conveyers, means for operating said gate, and

lmeans actuated by the gate-operating means "for causing the conveyer connected to the delivery-spout of the elevator to run with' the elevator.

9. In an apparatus of the character described, a pair of conveyers secured in the upper portion of a barn or crib and adapted to be driven in opposite directions, an elevator, means for connecting the delivery-spout of said elevator With either of said conveyers, and means for effecting the discharge of the grain at various points of said conveyers.

10. In an apparatus of the character described, a delivery-trough secured in the upper portion of a barn or crib, a pair of conveyers associated With said trough means for driving said conveyers independently in different directions, an elevator, and means for connecting the delivery-spout of the elevator With either of said conveyers.

11. In an apparatus of the character described, a conveyer-trough secured in the upper portion of a barn or crib, a pair of conveyers associated with said conveyer-trough IOO IIO

and adapted to be driven in opposite directions, an elevator, means for connecting the delivery-spout of the elevator with either' of said conveyers, and means for causing the conveyer connected to the delivery-spout of the elevator to run Withthe elevator.

12. In an apparatus of the character described, a conveyer-trough secured in the upper portion of a barn or crib, a pair of conveyer's associated with said trough and adapted to be driven in different directions, an elevator, a movable gate adapted to connect the delivery-spout of the elevator with either of said conveyers, means for operating said gate, and means actuated by said gate operating means for causing theconveyerconnected With the elevator-spout to run with the elevator.

13. In an apparatus of the character described, a conveyer-trough secured in the upper portion of a barn or crib, a pair ofv conveyers associated With said trough, gearing for driving said conveyers in opposite directions, an elevator, gearing for said elevator, means for connecting the elevator-spout With either of said conveyers, and means for si- 'mu1taneousl5T connecting the driving-gear of the conveyer connected to the elevator-spout with the elevator-gearing.

let. In an apparatus of the character described, a conveyer-trough secured in the upper portion of a barn or crib, a pair of conveyers associated with said conveyer-trough, gearing for driving said conveyers in opposite directions, an elevator, a movable gate adapted to connect the discharge-spout of said elevator with either of said conveyers, means for operating said gate, and means actuated by said gate-operating means for connecting the driving-gear of the conveyer connected to the discharge-spout of the elevator with the elevator-gearing.

15. In an apparatus of the character described, a conveyer-trough secured in the upper part of a barn or crib, a pair of conveyels associated with said conveyer-trough, gearing for driving said conveyers in opposite directions, an elevator, gearing for said elevator, a movable gate adapted to connect the delivery-.spout of said elevator with either of said conveyers, and a single means for operating said gate and for connecting the gearing of the conveyer connected with the deliveryspout of the elevator with the elevator-gearing.

16. In an` apparatus of the character described, -a conveyer-trough secured in the upper par-t of a barn or crib, a pair of endless conveyers arranged end to end in said trough, drive-shafts at the adjacent ends of said conveyers projecting without the conveyertrough, gear-Wheels securedl to the projecting endsl of said drive-shafts, a horizontal shaft supported in journals secured to the side of the conveyor-trough, a pair of gear-wheels loosely mounted on said horizontal shaft meshing with the gear-Wheels on the elevator drive- Shafts and adapted to drive the same in op- DQSite directions when clutched to the horizontal shaft, a clutch member splined on said lhorizontal shaft between said gears, an elevator, gearing between said elevator and said horizontal shaft, a Lmovable gate. adapted to connect said elevatorV with either of said conveyers, means for operating said gate. and a connection between said gate-operating means and vsaid clutch member, whereby When the gate-operating means is actuated to connect the delivery-spout of the elevator with one of said. Conveyers, the clutch member will be moved to clutch the gear-Wheel meshing with the drive-shaft of the conveyer so connected to the horizontal shaft.

In testimony whereof I ax myv si gnature in presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN F. WHITE. Witnesses:

G. B. READ, R. A. FRY. 

